The Magic School Bus: Where the Roads Meet
by nikiallen0119
Summary: When Phoebe Therese meets a depressing breaking point in her life, a little twist in fate at her new high school just might give her a different perspective...


It was September 6th, 2004, and it also happened to be Labor Day, Phoebe's sixteenth birthday. She didn't really fancy the idea of growing up though, or starting the second half of high school just the next day. Life was so much to juggle. She had hated saying goodbye to the Walkerville Middle School. The more than difficult move in freshman year had stuck in her memory alongside the farewell. She had made so many friends there, and she had enjoyed the teachers. But the thought of the Walkerville Elementary School still surfaced in her mind quite often. It had been over five years since she said goodbye to that place, including her friends and Ms. Frizzle. She hadn't seen any of them since.

She heaved a sigh, leaning back into the teal pillows on her bed. Life was okay… but it had never been the same since she entered the sixth grade. Now she was going into eleventh grade, alone. With her recent lonely thoughts filling her head, she slowly reached over to her nightstand and took hold of a small picture of her twenty-five year old brother, David, who was serving in the U.S. Navy. It had been two years now since he left. It was so hard.

"If only you knew how much I miss you…" Phoebe mumbled under her breath as she traced the side of the picture with her fingers. She sniffled and fought back tears at that. What a birthday she was having… it definitely wasn't much fun so far. Great. Turning sixteen. Just a normal date in the year. She just wanted the day to end.

"Phoebe, your brother's on the phone!" Her mother shouted.

Phoebe's heart pounded. She quivered with excitement as she darted off the bed. Bolting down to the kitchen, she grabbed the phone from her mother.

"Hello?!" she said shakily, her voice cracking with sudden excitement.

 _"Hey, Pheebs! Happy birthday!"_ David's calming voice brought tears to Phoebe's eyes.

"T-Thank you so much, David!"

 _"Haha! Has it been a good one so far?"_

"Actually it's been awful. Just the move, and a new school tomorrow, and not knowing anybody. I miss you."

 _"I'm sorry, Pheeb. I wish I could be there. I miss you too."_

"I think about you all the time! More than you know."

 _"Oh, you have no idea, sis,"_ he whispered sadly. _"I think about you all twenty-four seven. Probably too much, but I love you guys!"_

"What are you working on now?"

 _"Well, we're fixing up some of our aircraft. My captain said our crew will be heading back to Iraq tomorrow."_

Phoebe drew in a sharp breath. "Iraq? So soon?"

 _"Pheeb, that's where I'm needed."_

"But I- we -need you too."

 _"I know."_

There was a pause, and Phoebe tried to stop her tears. She couldn't. "David?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"I'm afraid."

 _"It's going to be okay."_

"Are you sure?"

 _"Sure, I'm sure. I pray for you every day, little sister. I pray every day that you'll be happy and that we'll be together again soon."_

"Me too." Phoebe fought her tears back. "I love you, David."

 _"Love you too, Pheeb."_

She sat in silence for a few seconds, just glad to know her brother was there on the other end of the phone. "Do you want to talk to Mom?"

 _"Yeah, that'd be great. I don't have much break time left. Talk to you soon!"_

"Okay, love you!"

Phoebe reluctantly handed the phone back to her mother and trudged back to her room. Now the pain to see her brother was stronger than ever. How was she going to ease this? It seemed near to being unbearable, now. If only David hadn't chosen to go away. It was moments like these where she wished she could go back and relive the time she went to Walker Elementary.

Did she still believe she had had a teacher that would take them on wacky field trips inside a magical school bus? It was so long ago. Had she made it all up? And yet she clearly remembered going back in time, shrinking to the size of pinheads, and learning more than she ever had before. It would be so great to see those friends again. D.A., and Keesha, Ralphie and Tim, Wanda, and Carlos, and Arnold. And Miss Frizzle, and Liz!

...

Phoebe stepped timidly through the doors of her new school. What was her first class? She checked the schedule. Biology. Where in the world was that? Seriously, finding the right room was probably going to be the most stressful part of this new school. That and finding people to talk to. Where was everyone, anyway? Well, it was only 7:20 am. The hall seemed empty, and the steps of her red converse echoed as she searched for her locker.

Stopping at locker number twenty-three, Phoebe looked down both ends of the hallway, examining their cream-colored walls, with various artwork decorating it. The blue carpet supplied a cozy atmosphere to the currently vacant premises, and it looked to have been recently vacuumed. Taking a deep breath, she refreshed her thoughts. The school was not at all as bad as her imagination had made it up to be. If the teachers and students were friendly, maybe everything would work out.

Phoebe gathered her science books before closing up her locker, and decided to head to Biology. She'd be a few minutes early, but maybe she'd meet some new people. She walked quickly, looking for signs leading to the science classroom.

Suddenly she was brought back to reality when she felt her body slam into someone else's. She fell over, hitting her shoulder on a row of lockers, and the other person crashed in a heap beside her. Her books flew out of her hands and landed in a messy jumble on the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she rushed to gather her books back together.

"No no, it was my fault." the boy answered as he grabbed three books and handed them to her. He stood up, but didn't leave. Instead he held out his hand gently to help Phoebe up. She was surprised at this, but placed her small, delicate hand in his. She looked up to see a tall young man with wavy auburn hair and strikingly blue eyes. Wait. She knew those eyes…

"A-Arnold…?" she gasped.

His eyes widened. "Phoebe…?" he exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, is it really you?!"

She nodded quickly as Arnold wrapped an arm around her shoulders for a moment, giving a gentle side hug.

"I never expected to see you here!" Phoebe said as she adjusted her headband.

"Me neither!" he answered, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. I was worried about starting at a new school, but maybe this won't be so bad."

"I'm sorry, that sounds tough. I think you'll feel better once you get to biology, though." There was a unique twinkle in his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"Just wait. C'mon."

Phoebe followed Arnold through the hall. When she entered the classroom, it was already filled with people. The students sat at their desks with their books ready. Her gaze continually met with the floor as she made her way to her own desk. Arnold sat across the room from her.

"Hey Pheebs," A voice called nonchalantly from the desk beside her.

"Hi," She replied passively in habit. "Wait… what?" Looking over, her gaze met with another familiar face. One she hadn't seen in years. "Carlos?!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out!"

"Carlos!" the entire class chorused.

A huge grin spread over Phoebe's face as her eyes searched the room. There was Tim, and Wanda, and Ralphie, and D.A., and Keesha… Her entire elementary school class back together!

"What's up, Pheebs?" Keesha asked, beaming.

"Well, everything's great now!" Phoebe laughed. "I just can't believe this!"

"So you don't wish you were back at your old school?" Ralphie teased.

"You know my old school was the worst, Ralphie!"

"Ah, good morning, class!" the teacher greeted them, walking briskly in with a lizard on her shoulder.

Phoebe's jaw dropped.

The whole class chanted "good morning Ms. Frizzle", and Phoebe could only stare. Ms. Frizzle continued, "This is my first time teaching in a science class at a high school. I used to teach at the Walkerville Elementary School, but Liz and I wanted a challenge! So here we are, with so many familiar faces, and hahaha, I just can't wait to get started!"

Phoebe's mouth was still agape. This was the answer to all the prayers she had ever prayed.


End file.
